LG Electronics and HERE Technologies to Partner On Autonomous Cars

author: Eric Walz   

TROY, Mich., — LG Electronics (LG) is partnering with HERE Technologies (HERE), a provider of digital mapping and location services, to offer a next-generation telematics solution for autonomous vehicles, by combining LG's advanced telematics technology with high-precision map data and location services powered by the HERE Open Location Platform. Through their planned collaboration, the companies aim to support automakers with a robust and secure data communications hub for highly automated and fully autonomous cars.

Telematics is a term for the integration of telecommunications and informatics to provide vehicle safety and entertainment services such as navigation, location confirmation and emergency dispatch through various communication technologies, from GPS and DMB (Digital Multimedia Broadcasting) networks to Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and mobile communication.

LG has been a market leader in telematics since 2013, an is working on next-generation solutions that offer high-precision map information to meet the needs of the quickly expanding autonomous vehicle industry.

HERE is the world's leading provider of map data and location services to the automotive industry, powering more than 100 million cars on the road today. The company is also working with automakers on the development of HD Live Map, its highly-accurate cloud-based map service which supports connected ADAS (Advanced Driver Assistance Systems) and automated driving solutions.

HD Live Map, which LG intends to deploy in the joint solution it offers automakers, identifies all roads and surrounding features such as lane markings, stop signs, crosswalks, speed signs and traffic lights.

In 2015, European automakers Audi, BMW and Daimler acquired HERE. The company has since also welcomed additional investors from the broader technology industry, in a collaborative effort to develop high-definition maps capable of supporting autonomous driving.

Telematics: The Communication Hub for Autonomous Vehicles

In the connected cars of the future, telematics will play a key role as the communication hub for autonomous vehicles. Sensors in the vehicle's ADAS, including cameras, radar and lidar will read a vehicle's surrounding environment and send the data to the cloud along with information on nearby vehicles collected via V2X (Vehicle-to-Everything). All of the information is stitched together, analyzed and transmitted to the vehicle's  telematics system for customized driving information.

LG's telematics solutions support various communication technologies, including GPS, Bluetooth, Wi-Fi and mobile communication. LG engineers are working to develop 5G products, which will be four to five times faster than LTE with a 90 percent reduction in latency, ideal for next generation autonomous vehicle operation.

"We're presenting a new standard for autonomous mobile communication solutions in cooperation with HERE, which has unsurpassed cutting-edge automotive guidance technology," said J.Y. Kim, executive vice president of LG's Vehicle Components Smart Business Unit. "With partners like HERE, LG can continue to advance the next generation of connected car technologies to help prepare automakers for the self-driving era."

"To operate safely and efficiently, autonomous vehicles will need many kinds of robust data sources and powerful communication technologies," said Moon Lee, vice president of HERE Technologies APAC. "We believe our Open Location Platform-powered services can play a critical role in next-generation telematics technology for autonomous vehicles, and we're excited to be working with LG to make this a reality."

Eric Walz

Originally hailing from New Jersey, Eric is a automotive & technology reporter covering the high-tech industry here in Silicon Valley. He has over 15 years of automotive experience and a bachelors degree in computer science. These skills, combined with technical writing and news reporting, allows him to fully understand and identify new and innovative technologies in the auto industry and beyond. He has worked at Uber on self-driving cars and as a technical writer, helping people to understand and work with technology.